The BBC is almost working itself into a frenzy over the fact that it’s managed to grab the screening rights to this weekend’s inaugural Champions League Of Darts at Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena.
Sport on the BBC is a rare commodity, nowadays, apart from the truly lamentable Match Of The Day which should have been put out to grass the minute John Motson’s sheepskin fell out of fashion. Unless you have Sky TV or have the urge to attend live events, darts’ fans don’t get to see the stars of the PDC. ‘Auntie Beeb’ has been relegated to televising the BDO version of the World Championship and, quite frankly, I’ve seen players down my local that could hold their own in that competition.
So the BBC’s excitement is probably excusable, though whether such a restrictive competition staged over only two days will be able to hold its own against the well-established Premier League is another matter. Much as I’m not a great fan of Sky and what it’s done to football in the UK, the satellite broadcaster does know how to market darts and cultivate fan involvement – I’m not sure that the same expertise still exists among the ranks of BBC sport. However, let’s see what the weekend brings.
The Champions League consists of two groups of four players, with the top two in each going through to the semi-finals. World number one Michael van Gerwen will face Phil Taylor in Group A as well as Scotland’s Peter Wright and Robert Thornton. Group B consists of Gary Anderson, Adrian Lewis, James Wade and Michael Smith.
Van Gerwen is a strong favourite for overall victory at a best 5/6 with betway. ‘Mighty Mike’ won his sixth European Tour title of the year in last week’s European Darts Grand Prix in Germany and beaten finalist Peter Wright will not be looking forward to facing the Dutchman again so soon – he’s now lost 13 times in a row to van Gerwen.
New customers registering an account via this link with online betting site betway can get their hands on a free £30 bet from the bookmaker. After going through the quick registration process, your target is to place bets which total the value of your initial deposit with them at minimum odds of 1.75 (3/4 fractional).
Once you have matched the value of your initial deposit with qualifying bets, betway will reward you with a free bet bonus in your account. The maximum free bet value is £30 in the welcome bonus offer. When the free bet hits your account, you will have 7 days to use that bonus. Terms and conditions apply, please see full detail directly at betway.
The registration process at betway is quick and easy to go through. It is all very self explanatory and won’t take long, and there are numerous ways to fund the account, from e-wallets like Skrill through to bank and credit cards.
Anderson is 6/5 favourite to win Group B with betway but Lewis and Wade are serious challengers in the second section, which looks too close to call if all three are on their game.
betway’s Champions League Of Darts Outright Odds
Michael van Gerwen (5/6), Phil Taylor (9/2), Gary Anderson (5/1), Adrian Lewis (12/1), Peter Wright (14/1), James Wade (20/1), Michael Smith (28/1), Robert Thornton (66/1)
